PD331 Wealth and Stewardship in the Bible (A Practical Guide)
Explore why it’s important for us to understand our daily work as something intimately connected with our faith, and how this allows our faith to be a full-time way of life rather than something that we squeeze in for a few hours a week. Delve into how work is central to the image of God, and learn that all people are made to work together with each other as stewards of the world. Consider how the fall brought darkness, evil, and injustice into the world of work, and then look at how redemption and the Holy Spirit restore us to the image of God and empower us to persevere through toil and frustration in our work. Dig into the economic context of the changing global economy, and contrast our current world of work with what existed in biblical times. We are going to be looking at issues like poverty and justice and how we promote the dignity of all people, as well as how we can do our work in a way that brings flourishing to our communities. We will also look at the role of work in how the church can fit into a pluralistic culture.
Demonstrate why connecting our faith to our work is a central concern in the kingdom of God
Understand how all people are made to work and to work together as fellow stewards bearing the image of God
Explain how the fall brought darkness and toil and injustice into the world of work, and how redemption and the work of the Holy Spirit are empowering us for restoration and for perseverance
Describe the economic context of our work, i.e., the economic world that we work in every day, and describe how it shapes us and how we shape it
Explain how the world has changed in dramatic ways since the time of the Bible, and define the benefits and challenges associated with those changes
“Leisure-Time Christianity” vs. Whole-Life Discipleship
Work Is Central to the Church’s Mission
Work Is Central to Discipleship
Work Is Central to Living the Kingdom in a Pluralistic Culture
What Is the Stewardship Mindset?
What the Stewardship Mindset Looks Like
The Stewardship Mindset Is Not Normal in Human History
The Stewardship Mindset Creates the Entrepreneurial Economy
What It Looks Like When a Stewardship Mindset Creates an Entrepreneurial Economy
Love across Cultural Boundaries
Benefits Created by the Entrepreneurial Economy
Challenges Created by the Entrepreneurial Economy
God Is a Worker, and We Are Made in His Image
Ruling the World as God’s Prophets, Priests and Kings
Working within Limits—Obedience and Rest
Ruling as God’s Stewards—Helping the World to Flourish
A Naturalistic View of Flourishing Leads to Disaster
A Spiritual View of Flourishing Centers on Right relationships
Flourishing and Adversity
Living in Community—the Image of God in Relationships, Society, and Culture
Living in Generations—Creation Is a Project, Not an End Point
Holy Love for God and Neighbor—because God Is Love
Toil
Futility
Disruption of Identity
Disruption of Motivation
Disruption of Human Relationships and Injustice
Disruption of Our Relationship with Our Environment
Sloth and Laziness, Pride and Workaholism
Redemption, Justification, and the Holy Spirit
Redemption and Hope—a New Perspective
Sanctification: Transformation and Perseverance
Living and Working alongside Unbelieving Neighbors
Redemption and Human Flourishing
To Work Well Is to Exercise Holy Love for Your Neighbor
To Work Well Is to Exercise Holy Love for God
To Work Well Is to Live within the Limits of God’s Holy Love
To Work Well Is to Be Shaped by God’s Holy Love
Work as Holy Love for a Dark World
Ecclesiology: Koinonia vs. Oikonomia
Ecclesiology: The Calling of the Pastor
Eschatology: The Fate of the Widget
Eschatology: Continuity and Discontinuity
Soteriology: Redeeming the World?
Work in Sermons and Liturgy
Work in Pastoral Care
Work in Compassion Ministry
Work in Efforts to Serve the Common Good
Work in Youth and Family Ministry
Work Is Social
Work Is Cultural
Work and the Economy
Materialistic Approaches to the Economy and Flourishing
A Spiritual Approach to the Economy and Flourishing
The Economy Is Social: Trust
The Economy Is Cultural: Our Character Shapes the Economy
The Economy Is Cultural: the Economy Shapes Our Character
Value, Resources, and Priorities
The Purpose of Work Is to Create Value
Intrinsic and Instrumental
How Work Creates Value
How Exchange Creates Value
The Insufficiency of “Enlightened Self-Interest”
Value Is Not Money
The Three Uses of Money
Value and Wages
Value Is Moral
Value Is Personal
The Difficulty in Treating Value as Both Moral and Personal
Freedom, Responsibility, and Relationships
Economic Context and Reading the Bible
The Ancient Economy—Wealth and Land
The “Limited Access Order”
Injustice and Paternalism in the Ancient Economy
The End of the Old Order
Medieval Developments
The Reformation Challenge to Body/Spirit Dualism
The Reformation Challenge to Injustice and Paternalism
Technological Changes
Theological and Philosophical Interest in Nature and Social Order
The Industrial Revolution and the Institutional Revolution
The Wesleyan Movement and the Industrial Revolution
The “Open Access Order,” Impersonal Exchange, and Trusting Strangers
Impersonal Exchange and Trusting Strangers
The Entrepreneurial Economy
To Work Well Is to Exercise Holy Love for Your Neighbor
To Work Well Is to Exercise Holy Love for God
To Work Well Is to Live within the Limits of God’s Holy Love
To Work Well Is to Be Shaped by God’s Holy Love
Work as Holy Love for a Dark World
The Increased Importance of Work Feeds Both Sloth and Workaholism
Weakening of Important Cultural Institutions
Fragmentation of Moral Language and Cultural Assumptions
Fragmentation Challenges Belief and Spiritual Formation
Shared Social Space and the Emergence of Secularism
Systems Run Amok
The Continuing Challenge of Poverty
The Church Must Take Responsible Action on Economic Issues
Responsible Action and the Secularization of the Culture
Responsible Action and Social Conflict
Working within the Entrepreneurial Economy Rather Than Rejecting It
Being Political without Being Partisan
Cultural Entrepreneurship
Spiritual Poverty
Material Poverty vs. Economic Poverty
What the Economically Poor Need Most
Helping That Hurts
Why Our Help Hurts
Two Kinds of Inequality
New Approaches to Poverty
Non-Price Allocation and the Poor
Different Models of Exile: OT and NT
Starting with Shared Humanity
Loving an Unholy World While Maintaining Holiness
Renewing the Church and Serving the World
Title: Mobile Ed: PD332 A Christian Perspective on Work and the Economy
Instructor: Greg Forster
Publisher: Lexham Press
Publication Date: 2016
Product Type: Logos Mobile Education
Resource Type: Courseware, including transcripts, audio, and video resources
Courses: 1
Video Hours: 7
Dr. Greg Forster is an author and scholar whose work covers theology, economics, political philosophy, and education policy. He is the author of six books, including Joy for the World: How Christianity Lost Its Cultural Influence and Can Begin Rebuilding It, as well as numerous scholarly and popular articles. He is the director of the Oikonomia Network at the Center for Transformational Churches at Trinity International University. He is also a senior fellow at the Friedman Foundation for Educational Choice, the editor of the group blog Hang Together, and a regular contributor to various digital media outlets. He received a PhD with distinction in political philosophy from Yale University.